Ow Do You Do?
by aintnodoubtaboutit
Summary: Little Gavroche Thénardier has been abused for his entire life. When he gets thrown out, he find his way to Les Amis l'ABC. Will he find his freedom with them? WARNING: Abuse, suffering and swearing. Crappy summary, sorry. Please review!
1. Red Snow

**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Misérables and it's characters, as much as I want to. **

**A/N: This is the first time I write Les Mis, so please do not judge me. I'm a great fan of the musical and the film, and I picture the movie cast as my characters. I am covering a period of time, from his 8th year until he dies, to be precisely. There is mention of Cosette, just go with it, I want her in it so she is in it. I did change some thing because I think it is better that way. Please review!  
**

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'NO Papa, please! I'll behalf! Please!' screamed an eight-year-old Gavroche Thénardier. His father threw another fist at the little boy, causing him to break Gavroche's nose. There was blood falling from Gavroche's face, not only from his nose, but also from a big wound on his forehead. 'Please Papa, I'm sorry! I'll behalf!' Gavroche said a little quieter. Monsieur Thénardier looked at his son, like it was some sort of parasite that had to be destroyed. The worst part was that you would think monsieur Thénardier had been drinking, but he hadn't. He was this cruel to his son. He was like a saint to his daughters Eponine and Alzema, but to Gavroche, who had come last, he was like a beast. Even Cosette had been more welcome in the household. And that's saying something.

'GET OUT OF MY SIGHT YOU LITTLE BRAT! BETTER NOT CATCH MY EYE! GO UPSTAIRS AND MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL!' Thénardier screamed and his son ran as fast as he could up the stairs to his little bedroom in the attic. It was a freezing winter and it was almost as cold as in the attic as it was outside. Gavroche curled himself up to a tiny ball and sat in the corner of his improvised bed. He stopped crying, he couldn't cry anymore. Not tonight. There was a awfully great change that his father would come up and give Gavroche another beating. His mother didn't care, she was exactly the same. Always so proud of her daughters, but Gavroche? Gavroche lost count of the numbers of evenings his mother yelled at him and told him he was a mistake.

Gavroche wasn't right this time. He had fallen asleep an hour or so after he was sent upstairs, and he woke up by the sun that shone into his room through the window. Clearly, it had stopped snowing, but when he rose to his feet and looked out the window, he saw _so_ much snow.

Gavroche put on his boots and walked downstairs as quiet as possible. He had survived the night, but the day was a complete new adventure.

His sisters were already up. 'Gavroche, how do you feel? Does anything hurt?' Eponine asked as she strode forward, to her little brother.

'Nothing more than the usual, I guess.' Gavroche replied. He took a seat and the littlest piece of bread from the basket. Gavroche never had the same amount of food as the rest of the household. Eponine, Alzema, even Cosette. They all had flesh on their bones. Gavroche only had some skin.

'Gavroche, Maman and Papa aren't up yet. Eat some more, please!' begged Alzema while Eponine came back with a wash cloth. 'Did Papa hit you with an candle holder or something?' She asked whilst cleaning Gavroche's head wound.

'They will figure it out that I ate more, and yes, it was a candle holder.' Gavroche whispered. He started to eat the dry piece of bread. He would never dare to put cheese or something on it, no.

'Why does Papa this to you?' Eponine whispered. She didn't meant to say it, but Gavroche heard it. His answer broke both his sisters' hearts.

'I am a mistake.'

Gavroche finished his bread and stood from the chair. 'I have work to do.' and with that he left the kitchen en went outside. His work, as Thénardier called it, was most of the time doing heavy work and being outside in extreme weather. Gavroche still thinks his father did it to maybe get rid of him that way. But Gavroche was a strong kid, and it was amazing how he survived day after day in the Thénardier household.

That night would have been probably the worst. Madame Thénardier had locked Eponine, Alzema and Cosette in their rooms, so that they wouldn't interrupt or try to help their little brother. Thénardier had made up the worst excuse ever.

'YOU DIDN'T CLEAN THE GARDEN HOUSE! I'LL GIVE YOU A LESSON, DISOBEYING ME, HOW DO YOU EVER DARE?!' Thénardier screamed at Gavroche. 'You didn't tell me to clean it.' Gavroche whispered. He saw his grandpa's cane in his father's hands. That wasn't promising good news. 'DON'T YOU DARE TO BLAME ME FOR IT!' and the first hit was a fact. Gavroche was hit on his left shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. He tried not to show weakness, because that would make it only worse. Another hit with the cane, this time on his already wounded head. It started bleeding like crazy. Gavroche placed his right hand palm on the wound, to try to stop the bleeding.

Gavroche let it just in. He felt a lot of pain, and he gave into it. Both his father and mother were hitting him repeatedly with objects and their bare hands. The last punch he felt was in his chest. All the air got knocked out of his lungs, and he passed out.

Madame Thénardier opened the door. 'Make it quick, it's snowing again, maybe he dies. One less mouth to feed.' she added. Monsieur Thénardier pulled Gavroche out of the house by holding him by his hair. He threw Gavroche in the snow a street away from the inn, spat on the boy en walked back.

The snow soon got red, and redder, and Gavroche only got bluer. It was snowing hard, really hard and it wouldn't take long for the weather to take the little Gavroche's life.

* * *

Enjolras was a young student obsessed with revolution and democracy. He wanted to liberate the poor civilians of Paris, make a better city for them. One night he was walking to _Café Musin, _the headquarters of _Les Amis l'ABC_, a student group that was willing to fight for revolution. And they would some day. The whole plan was still small and had a lot of wholes to be filled, but Enjolras would fix it. He made that vow for years.

On the way from his house to the cafe, he always passed an inn. He'd never been close, and he didn't plan to. But this time something odd got his attention. Long, red lines of snow were leading from the door to somewhere in the street. He knew the color well enough to know it was blood. A lot of blood. He decided to follow the bloodlines. It didn't take to long to find what he was looking for. Not far from the inn lay a little kid in the snow, red from blood and blue from the cold. Enjolras didn't doubt for a moment and ran to the child. He took off his favorite red coat, wrapped the kid in it and started carrying him to the cafe, with all hope that the kid wasn't dead already and that Joly was there.

Getting nervous by the step, Enjolras started running. He could already see the warm lights of the cafe, and that triggered him to run as fast as he could, maybe even faster.

'JOLY! MARIUS! SOMEBODY!' Enjolras screamed towards the cafe. It was Coufeyrac who opened the door.

'What the... Enjolras?'

Enjolras ran inside. 'Is Joly here?' he asked, catching for breath. He had never ran that fast. Joly stood up from his stool and ran over to Enjolras, who laid the kid down on an empty table. Joly removed Enjolras' coat from the kid and looked at him with pity. Joly was a medical student, but most people thought that he was an doctor already.

'Is he still...' Marius Pontmercy asked from behind Coufeyrac. 'Yes. But barely.' Joly said. He didn't waste any minute and lifted him carefully from the table and took him upstairs. There was a little guestroom up the stairs from the cafe. It was never used until now. Marius and Coufeyrac followed immediately, but Enjolras fell down on a chair. Combeferre, a philosophical student and also one of Enjolras' closest friends, laid a hand on his shoulder. Enjolras was completely covered in blood.

'You might have saved his life. Where did you find him?' Combeferre asked.

'A street away from that creepy inn. And the worst part, I found him by following the bloodlines that came from the front door of the inn.' Enjolras swallowed away some tears.

'I know the master of the house, Thénardier. A con, a terrible father. They have kids, I know they have a son.' Combeferre said slowly. 'Maybe it is him. Thénardier only loves his daughters so, it is possible.'

'That doesn't mean he can almost murder his son and drag him out in the snow to let him die.' Enjolras swore under his breath. 'Enjolras, calm down. We can worry about this later, first we need to wait and let Joly do his job.' Grantaire said. Grantaire wasn't a big fan of the whole revolution thing, but somewhere he was. He was an alcoholic, but had sobered up immediately when Enjolras carried in the child.

Marius and Coufeyrac walked downstairs with their heads down.

'Is he d-dead?' Grantaire asked.

'Not yet.' Marius said.


	2. Waking Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Misérables and it's characters, as much as I want to. **

**A/N: I am happy with the first chapter and it will go on like this. Maybe. I don't know. Just enjoy it! YES I KNOW, I SPELLED COURFEYRAC WRONG IN THE FIRST CHAPTER DEAL WITH IT. Please review!  
**

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After almost an hour, Joly came downstairs. He wiped his bloody hands clean with a wash cloth and joined his friends, who were sitting in silence. 'Any good news, Joly?' Enjolras asked. His voice contained vibration, he had held in his tears since he found the little boy. 'News, yes. Good news, no. He has so many broken bones it is a miracle he's still alive. His temperature is getting higher, so that's one good thing.' Joly sighed. 'Ready for the injury list, my friends?' Joly said. They all nodded in horror, waiting for what terrible things were about to come.

'Okay, here we go. Two head wounds, one was a little older and didn't bleed anymore, but still. Left collarbone is broken, as is his left arm. Right leg broken and even cracked. Uncountable cuts and bruises and the worst; six broken ribs which punctured his right lung.' Joly finished his sentence with a huge sigh and stood up. 'Will he survive?' Grantaire asked. Joly didn't answer, but by the look on his face Grantaire knew it: Only with a miracle.

'I'm going to get some supplies at home, I'll be back in half an hour. Can please somebody stay with the boy?' Joly asked. 'I'll stay with him.' Courfeyrac en Grantaire said in choir. 'Okay, the two of you then. Try not to move him and when he wakes up, just talk to him en try to calm him down. Remember to keep him warm en give him something to drink whenever he's awake.' Joly put on his coat and left the cafe.

Courfeyrac and Grantaire walked quietly up the stairs and opened the bedroom door. The little boy looked even tinier in the big bed, under all the covers and with all his bandages. Both the students took a chair and sat on opposite sides of the bed.

'What if he doesn't wake up?' Courfeyrac asked. 'He'll survive. Joly is a great doctor already, he'll save the boy.' Grantaire whispered back in response.

'Gavroche.' a quiet, high pitched voice filled the room. The little boy in the bed spoke. 'Excuse me, what did you say?' Courfeyrac asked, who was almost awing. 'Gavroche. My name's Gavroche.' The boy, apparently named Gavroche, opened his eyes and looked at both the students. 'Where am I?' Gavroche whispered. He had to whisper, there was no air in his lungs to turn up the volume. Gavroche tried to sit up, but felt all his bones paining him and he let out a huge scream. Grantaire and Courfeyrac helped him lay down immediately.

The students downstairs heard the scream as well, and rushed up to the guestroom. 'What happened?' Enjolras said after he threw the door open. 'Nothing, he moved, and it hurt him.' Grantaire said. 'You're at Cafe Musin, I'm Courfeyrac and he is Grantaire. Those guys are Marius, Combeferre and Enjolras.' The three students waved at Gavroche. 'Enjolras found you earlier this night.' Marius said with a weak smile. Enjolras' cheeks turned pink.

'If it wasn't for Joly you wouldn't be here anymore, Gavroche.' Grantaire smiled, and helped Enjolras out of an awkward situation that way.

'Gavroche? Gavroche Thénardier?' Combeferre's eyes widened. 'I knew it. That bastard threw out his own son.' Combeferre yelled angrily. Gavroche felt afraid again, he was _so_ afraid of his father. 'H-he isn't h-h-here, is he?' Gavroche stuttered. Courfeyrac looked at Combeferre. 'Get out, you're scaring him!' And Marius walked out with an angry Combeferre. 'You're safe, Gavroche. He won't find you here. You're staying with us.' Grantaire smiled. 'Wait, remember what Joly said? We need to keep him hydrated.' Enjolras reminded his friends and himself. 'That's right.' Courfeyrac took a mug from the bedside table and held it to Gavroche's mouth. Gavroche was thankful for the cold liquid filling his sore throat. 'Thank you.' Gavroche muttered after swallowing the last drop of water.

Not long after that Joly came back in. In his right hand he had a large bag and in his left hand he had some clean clothes. 'You're awake! Good. I see you've met the rest of the gang already. Well, my name's Joly.' Joly made a little boy, causing Gavroche to giggle. He winced in pain right after the giggle. 'Try not to move too much, kid.' Joly said while he took Grantaire's seat.

'My names Gavroche, 'Ow do you do?' Gavroche managed to smile. Joly grinned as well. 'Does anything hurt?' He asked. Gavroche nodded a little. Like it was a clue for the rest of the students, they all left the room to let Joly do his job and heal the boy.

'My chest hurts the most, Monsieur Joly.' Gavroche whispered. Joly did a quick examination and then shook his head. 'First of all, don't call me Monsieur, it makes me feel really old. Second, there isn't much I can do about the pain in your chest, son. You have six broken ribs, and they've punctured your right lung. That's why it is so hard for you to breathe.' Joly explained slowly.

'Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll be there if you wake up, or someone else of the guys.' Joly placed a hand on Gavroche's uninjured shoulder. 'Thank you, Joly.' Gavroche said and it didn't take long for him to doze off. Joly refreshed the bandages that cover the major head wound and then left.

'Can somebody stay with Gavroche?' Joly asked. Combeferre, who had calmed down a lot, stood up and walked upstairs.

'His father did this to him. Why on earth would you do this to your own kid?' Marius asked to no one particular. 'Because Thénardier is a rat that needs to be murdered, slowly and painfully.' Enjolras added. The rest of the students agreed on that. 'He's going to stay with us.' Courfeyrac said. 'I'll take him in if I need to, but he is _not_ getting back into that house ever again.' The students could also agree on that.

* * *

Eponine hadn't stopped crying ever since she and her sisters were let out of their room. There was a lot of blood covering the floor and walls, and the trace was heading outside. Her mother told the girls that Gavroche had ran away, and that nothing bad had happened except for a deep cut from the broken vase, but Eponine didn't buy it. There had been too much screaming, crying and swearing for that story to be true. Gavroche had been beaten unconscious and was thrown out in the snow. There was nothing more she could do, she'd lost her brother for good now.


	3. Grantaire's Story

**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Misérables and it's characters, as much as I want to. **

**A/N: This chapter is going to get a little deeper into the relationship between Joly and Grantaire. Also prepare for loads of text because hell baby, I have some gooooood inspiration.  
**

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'Joly, is he going to survive the night? Because of all the injuries and so.' Marius asked while drinking a bit of wine. 'I honestly don't know. It's up to him. If he can fight off the pain, and if he has the strength to fight for his recovery, yes he'll survive.' Joly sighed.

'JOLY! JOLY COME UP HERE!' Combeferre yelled. 'JOLY PLEASE!' Joly and Marius got up and ran up the stairs. The door was already open en Combeferre was sitting next to a really sweaty boy. 'Mon Dieu… he's got a fever.' Joly said en he pushed Combeferre away from Gavroche. 'Marius, go downstairs and bring me as many cold towels you can get. Combeferre, I need a large bucket of ice. Whole lot of snow out there, so use it.' Joly bossed the two around. They didn't care being called around by their friend, because he was their only hope Gavroche could survive. Courfeyrac headed upstairs as well when he heard all the screaming and Joly bossing everybody around. 'What happened?' Courfeyrac asked. 'He's got a fever..' Marius said and he went to get the wet towels. 'But, Joly. He was _so_ cold two hours ago. How is this possible?' Courfeyrac was really confused. 'Courf, please. Get out and do something useful.' Joly yelled. He was taking away the covers that Gavroche was under and tried to bring down his temperature by taking off the little boy's shirt. It caused Gavroche you scream in pain. 'I'm so sorry, Gavroche. But you're running a fever and I need to get your temperature down.' Joly apologized. Gavroche nodded as a sign that he understood what Joly was saying, but it didn't prevent him from crying, caused by the pain in his whole body. Marius came back with the cold towels, as well as Courfeyrac and Combeferre with two large buckets of snow. 'Here, Joly. Is this enough?' Joly looked at it and then turned back to Gavroche. 'For now, yes. Wake Grantaire up for me and send him up, I need him.' And with that the students left the guestroom to find and wake Grantaire.

Joly started to wipe away the sweat with a cold towel. He put snow in some other towels and placed in on his chest and forehead. Gavroche shivered at the cold on his body, but he liked it. It was a nice feeling on his warm chest and head. 'Joly, what is happening to me?' Gavroche managed to whisper. 'I don't know yet, kid, but I'll figure it out.' Joly said in attempt to comfort Gavroche.

'Where do you need me for, Joly?' Grantaire stood near the open door. 'Grantaire, you are the only one I trust with Gavroche right now, you know why.' Joly looked at Grantaire, who understood what his best friend was talking about. Grantaire took the empty seat next to the bed and opposite of Joly. Grantaire took the towel of Gavroche's chest, dabbed the boy dry and refilled the towel with snow. He placed it back on Gavroche's chest and did the same routine with the towel on the boy's forehead. When Grantaire took away the towel, he saw that the wound had started bleeding again.

'Joly, look.' Joly, who was busy to prepare to set Gavroche's arm, looked up at Grantaire and then down at Gavroche. 'My Lord, this probably explains it all.' Joly removed the bandage from the kid's head. The wound was pretty dirty and Joly didn't hesitate to clean it and wrap it up again. 'I think it has got infected, that's why the fever came up so fast. I'll stop by the University Hospital later to get medicine.' Joly told Grantaire.

'How do you feel, Gavroche?' Grantaire asked. Gavroche didn't really respond. 'Hey, Gavroche, I'm going to set your broken arm.' Joly said with a polite voice. 'Is it going to hurt?' Gavroche whispered anxious. Grantaire looked at Joly for a moment, they exchanged looks that could write a book full of expressions.

'Wait a moment, I'll be right back.' Grantaire said and in less than a second he had left the room and went downstairs. He came back less than a minute later with a large bottle of very strong liquor.'Grantaire, this is _not_ the time to get yourself drunk.' Joly said, a little pissed off. 'It's not for me, it's for Gavroche. You're going to set his arm, right? He'll die from the pain. I remember that pain like it happened yesterday.' Grantaire said a little bit quieter. He didn't want to scare Gavroche, but that was too late already. 'So you want to get him drunk?' Joly asked, Grantaire shook his head. 'He'll only need a few drops from this stuff to get him to sleep. I know why you asked me to be here, for once listen to me.' Grantaire held the bottle out to Joly, who thought about it for a moment, but then took it. Grantaire was right about this one, Gavroche would die from the pain otherwise.

Joly filled a quarter of a mug with the liquor, then filled it up with water and put in on the bedside table. Gavroche, who was still running quite a fever, hadn't followed much of their conversation. Joly helped him sit up a little. 'Okay Gavroche, this will put you to sleep, so you won't feel so much pain when I set your arm.' Joly held out the mug and let Gavroche take a sip. 'It's gross!' Gavroche made a disgusting face. 'I know, but you have to drink all of it, buddy.' Grantaire said. Gavroche looked at the mug again, but after a little hesitation he drank the liquid.

'Well done!' Grantaire encouraged him. 'How long will it take, you think?' Joly asked Grantaire. 'Not so long, couple of minutes maybe. It it strong stuff you know, and he's just a little boy.' He responded.

Grantaire was right. About five minutes later, Gavroche was fast asleep. Grantaire looked at Joly with a I-told-you-so-look and really enjoyed this moment, where he was right and the medical student not.

'Oh shut you you bastard.' Joly said, but smiled widely. 'I want to wait just five more minutes, to be sure you know.' Joly said. 'He'll feel something, though. It'll feel like a nightmare.' Grantaire said while looking down at Gavroche. He reminded him so much of himself when he was Gavroche's age. Joly saw the look in Grantaire's eyes, but decided that the history talk could wait until after he'd set Gavroche's arm.

'Can you help me with this?' Joly asked, Grantaire nodded. Joly took the kid's right arm out of the sling it was in. Grantaire was right again, you could see some Gavroche make some painful faces, like he had a nightmare. 'Okay, here we go.' Joly said when he had found the break in the bones. Grantaire sat on the bed, one hand placed on Gavroche's left shoulder and his knees against the little boys hip to keep him still. You could see that it hurt Gavroche whenever Joly bent his arm. A final _crack_ and the bone was set right again, although it was paired with a scream from Gavroche.

Joly waited a moment to see if the little boy would wake up, but he slept through. Joly placed Gavroche's arm back in the sling very carefully. 'We'll get someone else to watch him for the next two hours.' Joly told Grantaire, who was refilling the towels with snow. The nodded and left with Joly.

The two students came downstairs and were welcomed by loads of questions, but one really jumped out: 'Why did you need Grantaire?' It was Courfeyrac who'd asked. 'That's really none of your business, guys.' Joly said to safe Grantaire from telling the whole story. 'No, they can know.' Grantaire said. 'First I need a mug of wine and somebody who stays with Gavroche.' he added. Feuilly stood up. 'I'll go.' And he left with that.

Enjolras gave Grantaire a large mug filled with nice wine, and sat down on a chair to listen to the story. 'Well, the reason Joly needed me was because of my past. I've been in the same condition as Gavroche is now, beaten and thrown out by my father. He abused me whenever he found a reason, and he would lock me up in the doghouse after he was done. I was sixteen when I got thrown out in the snow like Gavroche. Joly found me and brought me to his father. Thanks to them, I can still tell this story.' Grantaire swallowed away the tears. 'I started drinking so I could forget about all the pain my old man did to me.' All the other students, except for Joly, looked at Grantaire with sorry. 'B-but.. why didn't you ever tell?' Courfeyrac asked. 'Because I didn't want you guys to know.' Grantaire stood up and walked to the guestroom. _  
_

'Feuilly, I'll stay with him.' Grantaire whispered. Feuilly nodded and left the room. Grantaire took a seat next to Gavroche's bed and started to do something he hadn't done in quite a long time; sing. He sang very quietly, but still.

'_Little people know, when little people fight. We may look easy pickings, but we've got some bite. So never kick a dog, because it's just a pup. We'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give up. So you'd better run for cover when the pup grows up.'_

It was the first time since he got thrown out that Grantaire cried.


	4. Knifes and Fists

**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Misérables and it's characters, as much as I want to. **

**A/N: Alright Mizzies, I messed up. In the first two chapters, I wrote about Gavroche who broke his _left _arm, as though I made Joly set his _right _arm last chapter. My apologies for this! Just go with the right arm.  
**

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'MAMAN! Maman, Gavroche is gone!' Eponine stormed into the kitchen, catching for breath. It was dawning and Eponine was told to get some groceries to Monsieur Montague. She had passed the spot where her little brother was dropped by their father, she could tell by the red snow. Monsieur Thénardier went red. 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE?' He yelled. Eponine got scared. 'Just like I said, he's gone. All there's left is a lot of red snow.' She hid herself behind her mother, who was just as angry as the master of the house. 'Somebody saved him. Somebody found him and took him in. Eponine, find the gang. I have some unfinished business to attempt.' Monsieur Thénardier picked up a large knife from the kitchen counter and walked out of the house, to find the gang himself when Eponine had refused by shaking her head.

Thénardier had found his gang and his beloved sidekick Brujon himself. It didn't take long for Brujon to figure out where Gavroche was. He had heard about a kid that was found in the snow, and that one Joly was treating him. When Brujon had found Joly, he had followed him to cafe Musain. Thénardier would finish off his son for good now.

Meanwhile, Joly and Marius had tried to get Grantaire to go home and sleep, but he wouldn't leave the cafe if it was for a million francs. The boys had put him in a chair near the guestroom and gave him some wine. When they returned half an hour later, Grantaire hadn't even took a sip. 'I can't.' was his answer. His eyes were still puffy and his face was still pretty red from the crying. 'Here, eat.' Courfeyrac held a bowl of food in front of Grantaire. 'It's almost dawn and you haven't slept.' Courfeyrac said. Grantaire didn't response and continued to eat his food in silence.

'Okay, I know that what happened to Gavroche is really affecting you, but you need to take care of yourself as well, my fried.' Courfeyrac laid his hand on Grantaire's shoulder, which began to shake, he was crying again. 'It's just..' Grantaire couldn't finish his sentence and before he even noticed, his face was buried in Courfeyrac's shoulder. They sat like that for a couple of minutes, but got interrupted by Joly who went to check on Gavroche.

Joly opened the door to Gavroche's guestroom and looked right in the eyes of a terrified kid and a gang of creepily grinning men. 'Oh my Lord...' Joly let his bag fell out of his hands, which made Grantaire and Courfeyrac look up. They jumped at the sight of Thénardier with a huge knife in his hand. Courfeyrac and Grantaire ran into the room, and Enjolras, Marius, Combeferre and Feuilly followed like a shadow.

'You're still alive, Gavroche. That wasn't like I planned it.' Thénardier said with an evil smile. The knife reflected some weak morning light. 'Thénardier, get out!' Joly said. Thénardier looked over his shoulder, seeing the Les Amis. 'And you are going to stop me?' he grinned.

'P-p-please Papa.' Gavroche stuttered with fear. Thénardier raised his knife and threw it down, but it wasn't Gavroche he had hit, it was Courfeyrac. Courfeyrac slowly faded away, on his way to unconsciousness. It was Grantaire who was the first to respond. 'YOU SON OF A BITCH!' he yelled. Grantaire's best friend was Joly, and everybody had always known that, but Courfeyrac and Grantaire shared something else; they were family. Both the boy's grandpas were brothers, making Grantaire and Courfeyrac second cousins. They had spent a long time of their childhood together.

Enjolras and Marius tried to start a fight with the gang while Grantaire picked Gavroche out of bed and carried him downstairs. Joly followed with the unconscious Courfeyrac. Joly saw Grantaire, who gave Gavroche a kiss on his forehead. He saw how Grantaire made a vow to Gavroche, then picking up his gun from the table and walking upstairs. 'GRANTAIRE NO!' Joly screamed. He wanted to run after his best friend, but there was no way he could leave Courfeyrac and Gavroche alone.

Upstairs was a battlefield of gang members and Les Amis. There were only fists included and mostly a lot of blood, but no guns or knives or swords. When Grantaire walked over to Thénardier and pointed the gun at him, everybody stopped. 'Well, well, well. If it isn't Monsieur Grantaire's little kid. I thought you died when your father threw you out, but just like Gavroche, you survived. You did quite a bad job, mon ami.' Thénardier said with an evil grin, but he wasn't talking to Grantaire. He was talking to one of his men.

Grantaire held his finger on the trigger, ready to fire the gun.'Grantaire, what is he talking about?' Combeferre asked. 'That man over there is my father.' Grantaire choked out. He now pointed his gun at his old man. 'You and the woman I always called Maman beat the living crap out of me, and threw me out in the snow. And now you are going to pay for that mistake.' Grantaire had tears streaming down his face. Now sober, he had felt more than he had ever felt drunk. He felt hurt and betrayed by his father, threatened by the gang, but also he felt some fatherly feelings towards Gavroche. Grantaire was the only one of the students who could actually relate to the little lad.

Enjolras walked over to Grantaire very carefully, in the hope that his friend wouldn't pull that trigger. 'Please, Grantaire. You know better than killing him.' He said quietly. Grantaire swallowed, but listened to Enjolras. He put away the gun and hit the man right in the eye. It caused his father to fall back, right through the open window. The gang members jumped after him, and Thénardier made a vow to find and kill both Gavroche and Grantaire. With that, he had also left the building by jumping out of the window.

'Courfeyrac…' Marius reminded his friends about their injured mate. They all ran downstairs to find Joly working on Courfeyrac. There was more blood than they had ever seen and Courfeyrac was breathing heavily, but he _was_ breathing and that meant that he was _alive_. Gavroche said in an armchair near the fireplace, shaking out of fear. Grantaire walked over to him. 'Hey, Gavroche..' Gavroche turned around and threw himself in Grantaire's arms. He started to cry. Everything hurt him, but yet everything felt safer with Grantaire around.

'How's he doing?' Marius asked Joly. 'I have to get him to the hospital.' Joly said, eyes still fixed on Courfeyrac. 'I'll carry him.' Enjolras said. Joly nodded and gave Enjolras very strict instructions on how to pick Courfeyrac from the table and how to carry him. Not much later, Enjolras stood outside of the cafe with the bleeding Courfeyrac in his arms. Joly followed him like shadow. 'Grantaire, you'll stay with me, right?' Gavroche said between sobs. 'Of course, Gav, of course.' Grantaire gave a weak smile.

'Did my father do that to Courfeyrac?' Gavroche asked after a while. He was still on Grantaire's lap, sitting near the fireplace. He was still a little bit shaky and his eyes were red and puffy from the crying. Joly had taken Courfeyrac to the hospital, and the other boys had followed them. 'Yes, Gav, but no worries. Joly is an amazing doctor and Courfeyrac will survive. And that man isn't your father. Do you remember what I vowed earlier?' Gavroche nodded. 'Good.' Grantaire smiled weakly and pulled Gavroche a little closer, who didn't mind that at all.

* * *

A couple of hours later - it was probably around noon by now - the boys had returned. Courfeyrac had to stay at the hospital for at least the night, and Joly would stay with him. The other students found Gavroche in Grantaire's arms near the fireplace - both sleeping. Not wanting them to wake up, they decided to discuss the matter upstairs.

'We can't leave Gav and 'taire alone anymore.' said Combeferre. 'Thénardier threatened to kill the both of them.' he added. 'That's true.' Marius nodded. 'First of all, we can't leave Gavroche go until he is completely healed. He'll probably go to live on the streets, and I can't say that that is wrong for him. He'll be better of there.' Enjolras sighed. 'How long will it take for him to heal?' Feuilly asked no-one in particular. 'Joly said it can take up to a month, maybe more.' Combeferre answered.

After a lot of discussion they came to the conclusion that Gavroche would stay with them until he was healed and ready to go. Also, someone of the students would stay with Grantaire, and Enjolras was going to make sure Grantaire always carried a gun around. He liked Grantaire after all more than he thought he did.

'I'm going to check on Grantaire and Gavroche.' Enjolras said and he walked downstairs. Grantaire and Gavroche weren't asleep anymore, and Gavroche didn't have that fearful look in his eyes any longer. It made Enjolras feel a bit better.

'How's Courf doing?' Grantaire asked as soon as he spotted Enjolras. Gavroche was still on his lap and Grantaire was reading to the little boy, who had never learned to read and write. 'He has to stay overnight, but he's fine. Joly's still with him, but I think he'll be here soon to check up on Gavroche.' Enjolras said and he sat down on a chair at the nearest table. It was next to the armchair where Gavroche and Grantaire sat in, and so Enjolras could see what they were reading.

'Fairy tales?' Enjolras asked with wonder. 'Gav choose the book himself. He had never heard about any of them. Poor boy.' Grantaire said, still the gloom of surprise on his face. 'Hey Gav, maybe Enjolras will tell you some real history some time. And Marius can learn you how to write and read.' Grantaire smiled. He looked at Enjolras, who nodded. 'It would be a pleasure, Gavroche.' Gavroche smiled from ear to ear.

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**A/N: Crappy chapter I know, but I had to do something to get to the next level. And don't worry, Courfeyrac isn't going to die. **

**Can you guess what Grantaire vowed to Gavroche?  
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**PLEASE REVIEW!  
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	5. A Ray of Happiness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Les Misérables and its characters, as much as I want to. **

**A/N: I really want a strong bond between Grantaire and Gavroche, so I'm working on that more and more. I like the fact that Courf and R are family, even if they're second cousins. And everybody needs a best friend so that's where Joly comes in. There will be some pairings, but I don't know which ones yet.  
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**This chapter starts with some sadness but everything will be alright in the end! I promise my dear Mizzies. **

**Also, I would like to thank the amazing people who favorited this story, and of course the wonderful people who are following it as well. I love the very few reviews I got. It's really helping with my confidence to write more. Thank you so much! Also sorry for all the typos. I do not have a beta, so..  
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"Alright buddy, we're going to get you back to bed. Joly will be here soon to check up on you." Grantaire smiled. He scooped Gavroche from his lap and carried him upstairs. You could see that Gavroche was in terrible pain whenever he was moved. Grantaire saw so and made his way up as fast as possible. He found the rest of the Amis in the armchairs near the guestroom. After Grantaire put Gavroche back in bed, he returned to his friends and sat with them.

"Gavroche fell asleep before I could put him down." Grantaire said. Enjolras also joined his friends in the conversation. "Grantaire, we want you to carry this around from now on." Marius gave his friend a gun. Grantaire nodded. "I understand.' "Good." Marius responded. Just then Joly showed up. "How's Courf doing?" Enjolras asked his friend. "He'll be fine. He's asleep now. The knife didn't do much damage and didn't hit any organs, so it is just the wound to heal. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to check up on Gavroche." Joly said with some sort of smile. "He's asleep, Joly.." Combeferre said after swallowing a large gulp of wine. "That's no problem." and Joly left to see Gavroche.

About fifteen minutes later Joly returned with the good news that Gavroche's fever was almost gone and that the healing process was going the right way. Especially Grantaire sighed with relief when he heard the news. "Hey, Grantaire.. What's the deal with Thénardier and you, or your father or whatever?" Combeferre dared to ask. Grantaire swallowed and took a big gulp from someone's cup that stood on the table.

"You know what I told you about what my father did to me when I was younger." Grantaire waited a moment to look around the room to see if everybody still followed. They nodded. "Well, ever since I can remember my father has two sides: The smart, well-educated man that the world saw and the thief and martyr only I knew. He was part of a gang, and the gang was led by nobody less than monsieur Thénardier. He was some kind of saint in our house." Grantaire stopped for a moment and wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes. "You already knew Gavroche, didn't you." Enjolras asked. "Sort of. At first my father tried to get me into the dark world, you know. Coming along with heists and stuff. I always refused. In the beginning, I was locked up in the inn and that is where I met the rest of the Thénardier family. Gavroche wasn't born then, but I remember that day. Gavroche was born on the same day my little brother died." Grantaire had now some tears streaming down his face. "Wait a moment, do you have a brother?" Marius asked. "Had." Grantaire's looked said enough. His little brother hadn't survived a beating one night. And with their mother gone, there was no-one to protect the boys.

"My little brother died the same night I got thrown out." Even Enjolras had difficulty keeping in his tears. Joly put a hand on Grantaire's shoulder. "How about your mother?" Feuilly asked really carefully. "She died giving birth to him.'"Marius held out a cup of wine for Grantaire, who thankfully grabbed it and emptied it in his throat.

"God, there isn't a day I don't miss Anduin. Or my mother." He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "I always thought that I was pathetic, but when I met you guys, things went better." Grantaire smiled, just like the other amis. "ALL RIGHT GROUP HUG!" Marius yelled. And they all hugged each other, and it made Grantaire smile and it made it better.

"That were enough sad stories. Joly, is it okay if I visit Courfeyrac? I need to talk to him." Grantaire asked. "But of course! We'll take care of Gavroche. Tell Courf we said hi." Joly smiled. Grantaire put on his hat and coat and left the cafe.

Hours past and it was around midnight before Grantaire had returned; With Courfeyrac. The hospital said there was no reason to keep him in, because it was only a wound to heal and they had an amazing medical student in their midst to help out if needed. Gavroche had been asleep ever since Grantaire had put him back to bed that afternoon and Joly was glad Gavroche took his rest.

"Hey, Marius.. Can I talk to you for a moment?" Enjolras asked. "Yeah sure, what's wrong?" Marius answered. "Nothing's wrong, not really. But.. er.. I have this feeling for someone." Enjolras looked away from Marius. "Wait? You? For real, no Patria or something?" Marius asked with disbelief. "Yes, a real romantic feeling towards a real person." Enjolras went red. "And who may this lucky woman be?" Marius grinned. Enjolras swallowed. "Never mind, thanks for your time." And Enjolras was gone. Marius was confused, really confused.

"Hey Courf, how's it going?" Joly asked. They had put Courfeyrac in the most comfortable armchair they could find and had placed it near the fireplace. Courfeyrac was enjoying a good book, but died from the pain. "It hurts _so _much, Joly." Courfeyrac responded. He put away his book and let Joly take a look at the wound. "It looks like it is healing quite well, but I can imagine the pain. I'll get you some liquor, it works better than the painkillers I've got. And it tastes better." Courfeyrac and Joly laughed. It did the other boys joy to see that Courfeyrac was dealing with the stabbing so good. Probably because he didn't remember much of it. Grantaire had talked him in at the hospital.

Joly returned with the same liquor they had used on Gavroche, filled half a cup and used water to mix it up a bit. "It is too strong to drink pure, especially in _your_ condition." Joly said. Courfeyrac drank the liquor with pleasure, and soon felt that the pain went away. It never completely left, but it was bearable.

"Is Grantaire still up with Gavroche?" Combeferre asked. Joly nodded. "I just went to see Gavroche, and they were both asleep. I think Grantaire's back is going to hurt tomorrow." Joly grinned. "There is something good about this, by the way. Grantaire doesn't drink more than we do. Maybe he's sobering up?" Marius said. All of the Amis nodded and talked about it, but Joly stayed silent.

"What do you think about it, Joly? You haven't said anything." Enjolras said after half an hour of discussion. "He isn't sobering up. Alcohol is the one thing that keeps him sane and feel safe. Never try to take it away from him. Goodbye." Joly said and he left. It was very late and they all should have gone home already. Only Enjolras was going to stay to keep an eye on Courfeyrac and Gavroche, and maybe even Grantaire.

* * *

The morning after, or afternoon, to be exact, was very stressful and a matter of good planning. All of the boys had lectures at university that day. Some in the morning, some at noon or in the early afternoon and even some in the early evening. They had all planned it so, that there were always two students with Gavroche and Courfeyrac. They had laughed a joke to get Grantaire out of the guestroom, but even _he _attempted his lecture on time.

Later that day they found out that Feuilly was an amazing cook. He had made the most tasteful ratatouille the students had ever eaten, and especially Gavroche enjoyed it. It was far too much to keep down in his little stomach because he wasn't used to that amount of food, but he was merry and thankful. Courfeyrac hadn't eaten so much, he felt nauseous and kept throwing up. Joly concluded it was from the medication they had giving Courfeyrac to help him heal.

"Alright," Combeferre said after the dishes were done. "what are tonight's plans?" All of the Amis thought hard, but it was Courfeyrac that spoke; "What about just hanging around and enjoying good wine and nice stories?" Grantaire jumped. "If we're doing that, I'm getting Gavroche. He's one of the Amis, if you like it or not, Enjolras." The Amis had voted about Gavroche becoming one of them when Enjolras had his lecture. They hadn't told him yet, but now seemed to be the right moment. "I'm fine with it." Enjolras said while looking at Grantaire. Marius saw so, and started to connect some dots. Soon Marius would figure it all out, and Enjolras had to be less obvious.

Grantaire ran upstairs to get Gavroche. Gavroche was just waking up from his slumber after dinner and smiled at the sight of his favorite Amis. "Do you want to come and listen to good old stories with the rest of the Amis?" Gavroche nodded heavily. Grantaire scooped the boy out of bed and carried him downstairs. Joly and Grantaire, just as well as the other Amis shared an opinion about Gavroche; They had to gain weight. Joly figured out, after Grantaire's story, that Gavroche was about eight years old. He looked like a five-year-old and that wasn't good.

"Hey Gavroche, how are you doing?" Courfeyrac asked. "I'm fine, thanks. It still hurts but it's bearable. I've been through more in my life." Gavroche smiled away his sentence. "And Courfeyrac, I'm sorry about what my father did to you." "Nah, don't mention it, buddy. Things happen, and I'm fine." Courfeyrac smiled. "But, this is the night of happiness, not sadness. Who starts?" Marius tried to stop Courfeyrac and Gavroche from sharing bad memories.

"I know one!" Enjolras yelled. He rose to his feet and took a mug of wine in one hand. "There was a time that I fell in love. And no, not with France or revolution, neither the republic. I fell in love with a real person. And.." "Enjolras are you drunk? Or sick? Or both?" Courfeyrac interrupted him. "What?" "You've never been in love before, and right now, amongst your friends and future revolutionaries, you admit that you love a woman?" All the Amis laughed, even Gavroche though he had no idea what they were talking about. He didn't like girls that way yet. He only thought of them as friends and was unable to understand love.

"You know what, Enj, go sit and drink some more wine. We'll get back to you in the morning." Combeferre joked. "Okay, my turn." Grantaire rose to his feet. "How do I say this.." Grantaire hesitated to tell. "I- er- love to draw. Like seriously. My drawings aren't that bad and stuff, but I am kind of ashamed of it. It's not very manly." Grantaire said with a head as red as a tomato.

"Draw something then. We won't laugh! I promise!" Gavroche yelled. He was very enthusiastic about Grantaire being some sort of artist. "Eh, okay.." Grantaire picked up an empty sheet of paper and a pencil, and started doodling. All of the Amis looked over his shoulders and hung in his light. He got mad every now and then, and his friends would step aside. Only to come back seconds later.

A couple of minutes later Grantaire was done with a full sketch of his friends enjoying wine at the cafe. It was very detailed for a sketch, but it was beautiful and it looked like it was stolen from a museum.

"Mon Dieu, Grantaire... This is amazing! It is _so _beautiful." Enjolras awed. "Nah, it's nothing. Just a little sketch." Grantaire threw his hand through his big messy curls. "Can you draw something for me, 'Taire?" Gavroche asked. Grantaire was flattered. "No really, Grantaire, this is more than amazing!" Joly yelled. "How come, in all these years of our friendship, I never knew?" Grantaire raised his shoulders. "I don't like to shine the light to it, you know. I only draw when I'm alone."Grantaire still had a blush on his cheeks. "Better get used to drawing in public then, because we will take advantage of it." Marius laughed.

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**A/N: Two author's notes? YES TWO, PROBLEM? haha. Okay, I'm so sorry for not updating any sooner. I've been sick and I had to read much to get my inspiration. I've been reading a little too much college AUs of Les Mis, hence Grantaire's art. **

**Thanks for the lovely reviews, follows and favorites! I love you all so much for reading this! **

**xx**


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